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It's Time for a Giveaway!

Just in time for the Holidays the nice folks over at Hillshire Farms and Sara Lee are sponsoring a Giveaway right here on Make it Do.

You can win a $50 gift certificate to Walmart… plus coupons for free products from Hillshire Farms and Sara Lee! What could be more perfect for the Holidays?

This Giveaway is in homage to my dear Father-in-Law, who is affectionately known as Granddaddy or GT.

You see, every Holiday since I’ve known him, he makes up a big plate his favorite- Pigs in a Blanket.

I remember too well my first Holiday spent visiting my husband’s family.  GT beamingly offered me a Pig in a Blanket.  “Pig in a what?”  I said.  I had never heard of them before, and I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of them.  But in no time that plate of little pigs was gone.

GT always makes his Pigs in a Blanket using Hillshire Farms Lit’l Smokies and crescent rolls from a pop can.  He wraps up the Lit’l Smokies, bakes them until they are golden brown and serves them with honey mustard.

Yesterday, I decided to try these myself using my homemade Crescent Roll recipe.  (Don’t tell my father-in-law, but the homemade dough tastes so much better!) You can pick up the Lit’l Smokies at Walmart. They also have a low fat turkey version so you can feel better about eating that extra slice of pie.  To make the Pigs in a Blanket using my crescent roll recipe, I divided my dough in to thirds, and cut them into thin wedges (about 1″ at the bottom) to make each roll small enough to wrap around the Smokies.

I made a large cookie sheet full of Pigs in a Blanket for an after school snack… and the kids just gobbled them up.  See that lone Pig in the picture above.  I had to rescue it for the photograph…

So here’s how to enter:  Simply leave a comment telling me about your favorite Holiday food traditions.  Do you have a father-in-law who makes Pigs in a Blanket, too?  Or something even more unusual?  Or is it Eggnog, sugar cookies or English Toffee?  I want to hear what foods mean the Holidays to you.  Only one comment per person please.

The contest will close on Thanksgiving Day Thursday, November 26 at 10:00 PM MST.  The winner will be chosen randomly and will be announced on Friday morning.

Also, Sara Lee and Hillshire Farms are working on a larger giveaway at their site in December so, stay tuned for the details.

My thanks to Hillshire Farms and Sara Lee for their sponsorship and the Giveaway.

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334 Responses to “It's Time for a Giveaway!”

  • Kristin Y:

    It depends on which family I am with. At mine I always make stuffed mushrooms and bacon wrapped little sausages with brown sugar on them as an appetizer. For my husbands family we always have prime rib.

  • MMmmmmm, that looks so yummy!

    To me, the German Lebkuchen say Christmas, as well as the Stollen that I’ve learned to make myself and we enjoy yearly. Growing up, the most vivid holiday food memories are pumpkin pie, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin pie! :)

  • Lea-Ann:

    We have a great Christmas tradition of everyone picking their favorite two appetizers and one fave dessert. Then that’s what I fix for our “Christmas dinner.” We just graze on it all day. And yes, there are always pigs in a blanket as well as bbq smokies and bacon wrapped smokies.

  • My Grammie started a tradition of sticky buns (using refridgerator rolls) for breakfast and at the big meal. Now everyone in the family does it. My mom would double the sticky so they were extra good.

  • For me, it doesn’t feel like Christmas until I make my Grandma Rolfe’s stir-until-your-arm-falls-off peanut butter fudge. My mom cried the first time I gave her a piece, because it brought back so many great holiday memories.

  • Haley:

    My family and I realized a few years ago that we don’t like doing dishes after making a turkey, so we started a new tradition – Mexican food!!! We looove chicken tacos, enchiladas, nachos, and the spiciest salsa we can find!

  • Ashley Mason:

    My hubby is a big foodie. Every year we try new recipes. He plans the menu and we do the cooking together. This year he wants pigs in a blanket!

  • well, for Thanksgiving it wouldn’t be right without southern cornbread dressing, candied sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and fried corn. We have some snack dishes that we always have. One is pretzels coated with dry ranch dressing and popcorn oil. You have to do it a couple of days ahead and turn it everytime you walk by the bag. Another is peanuts mixed in almond bark (only the candy melts in the cake decorating/craft dept at walmart- not from the baking section of the store)

  • Our favorite food tradition is chocolate covered pretzels. So yummy, and can be made perfect for every occasion with different colors of chocolate and sprinkles.

  • Dad:

    My favorite Thanksgiving “extra” tradition is caramel corn. Nan always makes this huge Tupperware bowl of gooey-chewy caramel corn which she keeps hidden until after the dishes are washed up and all is put away. She then brings it out and although everyone is full as can be, all pick at it while we sit around and visit until it is gone! And, I mean gone! You should post Nan’s recipe for it.

    I’m not the only one who likes it, Uncle Danny always asks, if he doesn’t see it coming.

  • Stacy:

    With whatever pie crust I have leftover I always make pie crust cookies for my dad. He likes these better than any other holiday dessert out there.

  • Mmmm…. Oyster stuffing, my mother would make it every year. Can’t get my husband or kids to even look at it.

  • katherine Toms:

    Ohh, my mother is a fabulous cook (a trait I did not inherit!). For the holidays she always makes a “Derby Pie.” That is what we call it here in KY, but I think it is called something else too. It has bourbon, chocolate chips, a flakey crust and whipped cream on top!

  • di:

    Cherry A Let candy! MMM I came upon this tastey morsel back in 1984. If my daughter comments here, I wonder if she will say cherry a let candy, also?! Thanks for a great giveaway!

  • My Dad makes Pear-Raisin Pie. We all love it! Definitely a tradition around our family this time of year.

    Also, we love popcorn balls with green and red M & M’s in them that my Mom makes.

    All this talk of food is making me hungry for some goodies!!!

  • Jennifer:

    What a great giveaway. We love pig in the blanket at our house.

  • Carole:

    My grandpa always made fudge and velvetta cheese dip every christmas. Oh how I wish I could have some of that fudge now!

  • My tradition is passed down from my grandmother, who passed when I was in 1st grade. I think it was from her mom, too. She baked her pumpkin pie with a cutout of a turkey on top. I have been making the pumpkin pie for my family since I was in 4th grade—so going on 20 years! I always put a turkey on top in her honor! Now they make lots of turkey cookie cutters, but I used to do it by hand, just like she did!

  • There are so many foods that say “holidays” to me. I have to say my favorite is our german Christmas dinner- sauerbraten, cabbage, and latkes. But we top it off with an English Christmas pudding!!

  • Tressa:

    Thanksgiving just isn’t the same without homemade cranberry sauce that is cranked by an old hand grinder. When I moved out and I had my first Thanksgiving with my husband I really wanted some of my mom’s homemade cranberry sauce but since she lives far away she did the next best thing and searched high and low for an old hand grinder like hers (which was her mom’s) and now my kids like to take a turn grinding the apples, oranges, and cranberrries up. We love the sauce and we like continuing what was started years and years ago.

  • Crystal:

    I spent my first Thanksgiving with my boyfriend’s family last year. They have sauerkraut with their turkey. Sounds crazy, but it was good. I am with my family this year and I trying it out on my unwilling bunch.

  • My husband’s Uncle used to make the BEST oyster gumbo every Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was so good!

    I think my favorite Thanksgiving food is the one we get the day after Thanksgiving. That’s when my Mom takes all the leftover turkey and makes a delicious gumbo! Yummy!

  • Ooo great giveaway! We love big family breakfasts with sweet breads and muffins and delicous cheese! Oh and my Mum’s homemade pecan pie .. not for breakfast, though!

  • Nancy Pope:

    My family loves to make Bratzle Cookies- These are German flat cookies made on a special iron similar to a waffle iron. No Christmas would be complete without them.

  • The only one I can think of is pretzel jello salad. We’ve made it the last few years and it is de-licious! It’s mostly sugar, cream cheese and coolwhip with a little bit of fruit mixed into jello. Not the healthiest, but it sure is good! Thanks for the giveaway!

  • jmransom:

    Orange rolls were the symbol of the holidays at my house growing up. My mom would make batches of them, and we would sneak in the kitchen and gobble them up while we waited for the meal to begin. The dough has orange juice in it, and they are rolled up jellyroll style with a filling of orange zest, butter and sugar. My job was always zesting the oranges, and I can still remember sitting at the kitchen table, my arm aching as I tried to get every bit of rind off the orange.

    I’m in the middle of making a double batch right now, for Thanksgiving dinner. I’m hoping, hoping, hoping that they will turn out as good as mom’s always did. I’ve called my mom twice already: “When do I know the yeast is done dissolving?” and “How sticky is the dough supposed to be?” The first time I called, she told me a great story. Her first holiday meal on her own, she bought a ham, but wasn’t sure how to cook it. She called her mom, who immediately began telling my mom how sorry she felt for her newest daughter inlaw who had no idea how to cook a ham — can you imagine? Well, Mom couldn’t ask for help after that! So instead she asked, “So which way did you tell her to cook it?” And got all the information she needed!

    Thank goodness for mothers, and grandmothers and aunts, when its time for the holiday cooking to begin!

  • Amy:

    I love making huge batches of fruitcake with my grandmother. I’m usually up to my elbows in dough mixing it in a dishpan. I love it though! I wouldn’t trade these memories for anything!

  • When we go to my sister’s house for the holiday’s they make Lefse which is an Norwegian flat bread made with potatoes. They serve it with butter & sugar It is so GOOD! A tradition that I plan on starting for my family.

  • Deborah:

    Nothing strange in our family as far as food items for the holidays. Just your typical turkey, dressing, cakes and pies. Early in the day, we have “munchies” which is usually shrimp cocktail and cheese balls with crackers. As we’re gathering earlier in the day at my Mom’s house, we much on these until the “typical” turkey, dressing and desserts are ready to eat. Maybe this year we need to try your pigs in a blanket. We could start a new tradition.

  • My favorite holiday memory is of my dad making his world famous french toast on Thanksgiving morning so we were full enough until we had a main meal. It’s always been my favorite, mixing in sweetend condesed milk, fresh spices and thick italian bread.

  • I know before thanksgiving or Christmas all the men in the family start calling me to remind me to make the turkey and stuffed jalapenos. The only thing the men in my family make is a mess!

    I’m still thankful those men are around to drive me nuts when they come into the kitchen a thousand times seeing if they can sneak something.

  • My favorite Thanksgiving food is my mom makes this awesome veggie dip which is also good on a leftover turkey sandwich.

    My favorite Christmas food is Sugar cookies for sure. Love baking all sorts of goodies. My husband’s grandma makes homemade Almond Roca and it is heavenly.

    Also my Aunt makes this berry trifle type thing for Christmas too.

  • Krystan:

    my favorite holiday food memory is my momaw jewell’s cranberry salad. It is sooo yummy!! She made it just for me every year at Christmas and Thanksgiving, and now that she has passed on I keep up the tradition, making it from her hand written recipe every year (even though I know it by heart!!) It just wouldn’t be the holidays without it!!

  • When I started dating my husband, he told me that his favorite holiday food tradition was his mother’s Apple Crisp. He says that it doesn’t feel like the holidays until he has it. Now that she’s passed away, I honor that tradition by making it for him every year.

  • Josh:

    Dang that looks good right now

  • Brooke:

    We love pigs in a blanket, but I have always done them with full sized hot dogs. Li’l smokies would be fun to try them with.

    My favorite holiday food though, is my mom’s homemade stuffing and stuffed celery. The celery is stuffed with a miracle whip and shredded cheddar cheese mix. It is always something I look forward to.

  • Megan:

    A tradition we used to have is tamales on Christmas at my grandma’s. I didn’t think it was weird until I found out most people have turkey or ham. I loved it, they were so good!

  • Margaret Smith:

    My favorite Holiday tradition is “Mom’s Stuffing”. My Mom always made the best stuffing and now my brother and I both use the same recipe. We make this for every Thanksgiving and Christmas. Wouldn’t be the same without our stuffing!

  • Ann F:

    My father in-law is know for is own special recipe Chex party mix

  • We always have turkey and all the fixings on Thanksgiving. My sweet mother in law always wants to make dressing, but some years it turns out way too dry (even with gravy). So this year we are doing mashed potatoes ;-)

  • Patricia:

    Sweet Potatoes is always a tradition with me. My family never liked them so they would toss in a yam to bake while cooking the turkey so I could have it. Other than that Turkey and Ham is our traditional foods. Mom made the turkey while my brother smoked a ham.

  • Amber G:

    My favorite holiday traditions are making mashed potatoes with my mom for Thanksgiving and baking christmas cookies with my mom as well!

  • I always make my grandmas chocolate caramel vanilla pie once a year because it is so decadent

  • Some of my favorite childhood holiday memories are of waiting for the big box of “pink popcorn” that my great Aunt Ellen sent us each year. We lived in Wisconsin, and she lived in Utah. She was my mother’s maiden aunt, and I was so impressed that she would do something so fun and send us ooey, gooey, sugary pink-colored popcorn. No one can really remember the flavor of it, other than it was just sweet and had pink food coloring in it. That popcorn was always devoured, and if you weren’t at home when it came…well, you were just out of luck!

  • Stephanie V:

    We always eat tamales on christmas eve – our tradition thanks for my grandma who used to make them from scratch
    tvollowitz at aol dot com

  • Theresa D:

    My favorite holiday food tradition is my moms Italian cookies, many varieties on a big tray and they are all delicious.

  • My great-grandmother used to make the best Christmas Pickles. They were made with cinnamon candies, and she used to make jars and jars of them in preparation for our arrival for the holidays. I’d always take a few jars back home with me to enjoy in between visits. Now that she’s gone, I make these each holiday and they’ve become a tradition in our home.

  • Rebecca:

    Oh my! Most of our traditions revolve around food! My favorite is my father-in-law’s divinity. He only makes it at Christmas, but makes hundreds and hundreds of pieces! It’s everyones favorite gift.

  • Amy H:

    My dad loves to make divinity for Christmas. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It is always an adventure!

  • Sally:

    We always had all my mother’s sisters together for a Thanksgiving potluck. Someone would bring a snack of crackers, cheese & dried smoked sausage. Now that I have moved away I realize the sausage was a German tradition native to our upbringing. I sure do miss it.

  • Pat B:

    Christmas is not Christmas without my mom’s iced sugar cookies!

  • My family, since we come from German heritage, always has marzipan (which our grandmother makes) or German Chocolate Cake!

  • Tammy:

    We have a very traditional Thanksgiving dinner. But what I look forward to most is dressing. We get both southern dressing which is cornbread dressing for the family members from the south and we also get regular bread dressing that is for the family from the north. I love to each BOTH! Lots of gravy, dressing and turkey! MMMMMM!!!!

  • Jennifer G:

    We use condensed milk in our mashed potatoes to make them slightly sweet.

  • Julie Moe:

    My favorite tradition is making chocolates every year

  • Diane S:

    We have to make Rice Fish, a family tradition of my husbands. It involves rice,ham and cabbage with alot of vinegar. The Boys are taking over making them and its fun to watch.

  • Christie:

    My mom’s homemade fudge is one tradition. Another is Boiled Custard, instead of Eggnog. And of course, PLATTERS of homemade cookies.

  • ky2here:

    I like to make brie in puff pastry.

  • I know this sounds kind of weird, but we don’t do a large family sit down dinner when we get together with my sister. We each make all kind of snack foods and we play games all day. We make meatballs, little smokies, cheese balls and sandwiches. We just snack all day.

  • Carol A:

    A favorite dessert we have is steamed date nut pudding. It was a recipe from my mother-in-law that was a favorite of my husband. It is served with several choices, warm carmel sauce, cream or whipping cream. Everyone loves it1

  • dairyfreemom:

    I really hope I win that gift card! My favorite holiday food is green bean casserole — not sure why, because I don’t eat anything else like it, but I look forward to it at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

  • Nadine L:

    My Mom always made homemade Banana Nut Bread, Date Nut Bread and Applesauce cake for Thanksgiving morning. We’d eat it fresh out of the oven with tons of Butter on it. I tried making them last year, it’s just not the same :(
    iheartsweeping@aol.com

  • mickeyfan:

    It’s always turkey. My one sister will bring the pumpkin and banana breads. The other sister brings rolls and green bean casserole. Mom “bakes” Sara Lee’s. Me, I try to mix it up! After dinner we go thru the ads and draw names for Christmas.

  • with my inlaws…it was everything polish. from pierogies to saur soup. the first time i tasted that everybody at teh table stopped to watch me. a lot of pressure seeing as my husband and i were only dating at teh time. but i’m german and love saur kraut so i loved the saur soup. they all ate it out of a sense of tradition but i was asking for seconds.

  • Lynn Osborne:

    Our family tradition is making fruit cake cookies to give away to office friends and neighbors. They don’t taste anything like fruit cake so we’ve just started calling them Christmas cookies. Thanks for the chance to win!

  • Michelle Draveski:

    we make norwegion rossettes
    a cookie thatis so so good

  • Daniel M:

    ours is a big turkey dinner wish all the fixin’s, can’t wait!

  • I love the stuffing. No stove top here (all though it is pretty good too). It’s really simple with just bread, celery, onions, seasonings and just a little broth, but it sure makes Thanksgiving for me! YUM!!

    -Kristina

  • Danette Fullmer:

    My new favorite is your crescent roll recipe. I made them this week and they turned out delicious. My kids love pigs in blankets.

  • My mom makes homemade pizza every Christmas eve. I don’t know how it started but every one of us girls makes it, even the years we aren’t in the same place for Christmas. The years we are all together, we let mom take over.

  • beth:

    We have shrimp cocktail on Christmas day as a mid morning snack. It doesn’t make a lot of since, but we do it.

  • Jill L:

    Got to have Monkey Bread Christmas morning.

  • Sausage balls and homemade caramels cannot be left out of our Christmas repertoire.

  • Mandy H:

    Every year we have to have our broccili cheese rice cassarole, its so good its always the first thing gone, thanks.

  • Diana:

    I have to say that tamales are my favorite at Christmas time. They are so much work but oh so worth it. I know there are many different kinds of tamales but my favorite are the ones wrapped in plantain leaves. Just thinking about them makes me hungry.

  • Every year, for as long as I can remember, we make tamales for Christmas. We would gather at my Mom & Dad’s house and my cousin Joyce would come over for the weekend and help out as well. My Mom ,her sister and my Grandmother made tamales ever since my Mom was a little girl! We would designate “titles” for everyone (i.e. counter, a spreader, stuffer, etc) and make a movie of the whole tamale making process. Lots of fun and laughter is had by all. Then we had “Grandma’s Crafts” while the tester tamales were cooking. We would make four or five Christmas crafts for everyone to take home.

  • Lori:

    This is to funny! We just got back from the store to buy stuff to make PIGS IN A BLANKET for tomorrow! My daughters have been wanting some. What a small world!

    One of our favorite Thanksgiving traditions that has to do with food is that we always have “Pie Night” the night before Thanksgiving. We feel that it gives us an empty stomach and time to sit back and just enjoy all the yummy pies and dessert. My husband is making your delicious chocolate pecan pie and I am making my yummy Dutch Apple pie. Can’t wait!

    Have a very Happy Thanksgiving! ENJOY!!!

  • My mother-in-law makes an over the top meal every year. This is NOT a joke or exaggeration. This is what we have every year! Turkey (this year 2 breasts instead of whole turkey), ham, homemade chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, regular corn, green beans, cornbread casserole, hashbrown casserole, butter beans, salad, black eyed peas, macaroni and cheese, green peas, broccoli, gravy, sour dough rolls, yeast rolls..and a new addition this year because my son requested it…spaghetti. There are only 13 of us eating.

  • My favorite holiday food traditin is that every Xmas Eve my family has a huge seafood dinner. Crab, Calimari, Prawns, pasta with clams, and much more!

  • Our holiday food traditions is a special stuffing that most of my family loves and comes from my moms side of the family. I particuraly love the cookies!!

  • rachel:

    I’m a giant sucker for pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce! My mom always burnt our pies, so somehow I like them that way best haha.

  • Every year I make beef empanadas. My granmother taught me how to make them and I now make them on TUrkey Day. I also make bean empanadas for the vegetarians in our family.

  • soha molina:

    My friend’s husband cooks Pasty for Xmas. We usually spend Xmas Eve jointly and have Pasty.

    eddiem11@ca.rr.com

  • Sheila Belcher:

    Lemon snowdrop cookies are an absolute MUST for the holidays!

  • My grandmother makes nothing and I mean Nothing homemade, but for Thanksgiving and Christmas she makes her homemade Chocolate pudding pie, even the chocolate pudding is homemade, I can’t get enough of it and I won’t eat any other Chocolate pudding pie!

  • Thank you for the giveaway. During thanksgiving, we HAVE to have a turkey injected with creole butter. YUM!! Since moving here from CA, the tradition is my husband goes hunting while I cook, lol. During Christmas, I have made fudge for the last few years and I usually end up eating the fudge until I am sick, lol.

  • Amz:

    Do the Holidays not revolve around food traditions?!! I dare say they do. At our house growing up, there was always a homemade batch of caramels. Now I carry the tradition on with my family. There is also Scottish Shortbread, Brown Bag Apple Pie, and the best candied yams your taste buds ever danced upon! Wow…I am hungry now!

  • Deanna G.:

    My favorite holiday food tradition is the stuffing my mom makes! I don’t know what she puts in it but it is soo good! :)

  • Rebecca Graham:

    I make jello in a souse mold shaped like a pigs head. It always brings a lot of comments and compliments every year.

  • One of my favorite traditions has always been the hand-knit stockings we use. My mom has the one her grandmother made her 60 years ago. My great-aunt made the same kind for my Dad and my siblings as wedding/baby gifts. Now my mom knits one for each new son-in-law or grandbaby. They are a treasure.

    PS I tried your Mom’s homemade crescent rolls and succeeded! It was my first time ever making rolls from scratch. Yeah-hool!

  • Mayra:

    Mines a weird one! On thaksgiving my mom always makes this dessert dont think it has a name but its shave carrots, diced apples, raisins, mayo, and a little sugar. She really loves it becouse my grandmother, may she rest in peace, used to make it when she was little. My mother came from a very large, but poor family. They made due with what they had so this is one of the desserts my grandmother came up with. Honestly my brothers and i dont really love it but we pretend we love it and eat it just to keep her happy.

  • Justine:

    One fave holiday food tradition of all time is the Green Bean casserole! I also love the toffee my step grandmother makes and this amazing Cap’n Crunch candy my aunt makes, it’s the best!

  • Ruth:

    Guess I’m getting old–when my kids are around it’s everybody at Mom and Dad’s house and we have all the standard Turkey day goodies. Turkey (sometimes ham), rolls and cranberry sauce, potatoes (two kinds), veggies, dressing, pies. I’ve always loved to cook for this one holiday since it brings back so many memories of my childhood in a big family and when my kids were little.

  • Edie Morgan:

    Nothing beats your moms cranberry salad. I can’t wait every year to have it! One of my favorite traditions!

  • S Manning:

    My favorite tradition is our Annual Cookie Bake Off. I love the sweet goodies and look forward to it every year. I’m just deciding on what to make this year…. Help me!!

  • TB:

    Hi! My mom makes homemade apple streudel with apples and cranberries from a very, very old recipe from her grandmom in the 1800’s. It is a family favorite! Not for Thanksgiving, but for every other holiday, I am in charge of making kugel, a fruit and noodle pudding. It is delicious, especially with apricots, which is the family favorite.

    Thanks for giving me a chance to win something!

    Tamarie

  • Debra F:

    One of my favorite traditions is that our Thanksgiving dinner starts with my grandmother’s “secret recipe” for Matzo ball soup. Of course we found out that this secret recipe was the one on the side of the box! It is delicious, have to admit.

  • Marilyn Wons:

    My favorite holiday tradition is the homemade Christmas cookies I made with my mom. I continued to bake them with my children, and now my grandchildren bake them with me!

  • Tari L.:

    For me, Thanksgiving isn’t Thanksgiving without Brown Bread.

  • Sharon R:

    One of my favorites is Irish Soda bread, it’s a recipe that has been passed down from mother to daughter for generations (at least 6 that I know of).One of the steps in the recipe is that you have to sift the flour 5 times. Not really because this was before there was presifted flour. LOL!

  • Doug:

    Love to have Garlic Cheese Grits, in fact our daughter will make them this pm

  • Harriet:

    Always love to have the cornbread dressing that my father in law makes. Never uses a recipe, always seems to have it in his head.

  • Faith:

    The colonial hot buttered rum, that we only seem to make during the holidays.

  • Liz:

    Our family food tradition happens at New Years where we eat collard greens for money, black eyed pea salad (which is the only way I will eat these) for luck, and sliced ham for health and family. It’s kind of a simple tradition, but as kids I remember my mother telling us we’d have one more dollar for every bite of collard greens we ate. It always worked!

  • Tracey Byram:

    My MIL makes the world’s best potato salad. My specialties are 7 layer salad and peanut butter balls.

  • My mother makes a stuffing with sausage in it and that always says Thanksgiving to me.

  • Carol:

    I make a Pumpkin Cheesecake that has become legendary. All the kids clamor for it year-round. Our tradition is to go to church and then come home and feast.

  • Rebecca F:

    My mom’s turkey dressing

  • Birdie S.:

    I make homeade cranberry orange relish- fresh cranberries stewed with FRESH pineapple & orange chunks …its really more of a soup than a relish but its YUMMY & the whole family helps in the choppin up of the FRUIT !!!!!! it signals THE HOLIDAYS to us here in So. Cal.

  • We always have crackers, summer sausage and cheese squares before the meal is actually served!

  • Tanya Ramirez:

    My mom always brings over 2 appetizers. Swedish meatballs and a yummy hot cheese dip. Both taste so good. But hours later I am always like, that cheese dip was a huge mistake. It always gives me a stomach ache. But I always eat it

  • My favorite holiday food tradition is all the baking I do for the neighbors. I love baking and my neighbors love my creation!

  • Cujo:

    I have many favorite Holiday food traditions. My family always gathers for the traditional turkey dinner and just about everything served is my favorite…. green bean casserole, 7-layer salad, mashed potatoes and gravy, mashed sweet potatoes, turkey and pie for dessert. These are the foods that mean the Holidays to me.

  • My mom makes the best sweet potato casserole with dried apricots. It’s my favorite!

  • Renski:

    My favorite Holiday food tradition occurs on New Years day. We eat appetizers all day long. Wing dings, pizza bagels, meatballs, a fruit, cheese and veggie platter and our newest favorite mini corn dogs.

    Great giveaway – Thanks!

    Happy Holidays to all

  • Dana:

    Definitely my moms fudge! Its not a holiday without it.

  • Lisa:

    My favorite holiday tradition is “Holy Supper” or “Feast of the Seven Fishes”. This is an Italian tradition that I experienced with my Grandmother, Mother, and now I am hosting it each Christmas Eve. We serve seven different fishes with a variety of other items and eat until we can’t eat it anymore! Now that’s Italian! :)

  • Jennie Gift:

    wow, what a great give away. My favorite holiday food tradition is my grandma’s almond spiritz. I can still picture sitting at our kitchen table making them with my grandpa and grandma is mixing the batter. I even have the cookie press and the hand written recipe my grandma created in the instruction book. There isn’t a holiday with out them :)

  • Ambrosia (the best ever fruit salad) is my holiday food. My grandma, aunts, and mom would slave for hours peeling oranges to make ambrosia for Thanksgiving AND Christmas. It’s my favorite, favorite holiday food!

  • MagMom:

    We have two essentials in our house: homemade Chex Mix for snacking and pumpkin pie for dessert. What a great giveaway!

  • susan:

    my father in law, who passed away two yrs ago from alzheimer’s, always made us champagne cocktails every christmas eve, but martinis for thanksgiving. and he made the best ones ever-never without one himself!

  • Pecan Pie is my favorite holiday food!

  • dawn0124:

    Although we have had to scale down our Thanksgiving Feast into a Thanksgiving Dinner, it would not be complete without mom’s candied yams with apples. A perfect flavor combination that is well worth the time and effort of using fresh produce.

  • Shelly:

    my mother-in-law makes great cardamom bread

  • Annette D:

    Our favorite Holiday food tradition is for me to make my mother’s dressing. She passed away when I was 19 years old (I just celebrated my 50th) but she taught me everything I know about cooking and she was a fabulous cook.

  • Rebecca L:

    Every year mini pineapple tartlets is a must in my household. It is a passed down recipe from my great grandparents, and I grew up with my grandmother and mother making them every holiday season. So now I do it too.

  • mroden:

    We always make Christmas cut out cookies. This started when I was a child and I continue it with my children.

    December is a big month for us as we have three birthdays as well as the normal Christmas parties, etc. This year, my eight year old daughter is going to make the pig in a blanket for her 10 year old brother’s birthday party. She thought that was pretty neat that she could help out!

  • Diane:

    I haven’t done it in a long time but my favorite food memory is making sugar cookies with my mom on christmas eve. My mom never cooked ( that wasalways my dads job) and i guess i got that from her. We would buy the cookie dough you can slice and we would make them into snow men and amgels. We didn’t use cookie cutters or anything other then our imaginations. When they were done baking we would use the gel frosting and colored sugar to decorate them!

  • Deborah R:

    A dinner’s not fit for a holiday without my Aunt Jean’s carrots. They probably have a common name, but we wouldn’t know it. It’s just carrots cooked in butter, brown sugar, lemon, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

  • Heather S:

    We all get together and bake Christmas cookies all kinds from sugar to chocolate chip and peanut butter. Then we package them up and give them to friends and neighbors. I enjoy baking and then making people happy by giving them the goodies.

  • Merry Fenton:

    For my family it’s steamed Christmas pudding with hard sauce. Last year I made the pudding ahead of time and had it in my carry on. I made the mistake of saying the word “pudding,” which is on the forbidden list. It took all I had to convince them is wasn’t liquid (they could see its cake like consistency) and SEVEN TSA employees to decide that I could take it on the plane. This year I’ll be bringing the mold with me and making it back east. It wouldn’t be a holiday meal without the pudding for Auntie Margaret. : )

  • Denyse:

    My great grandmother always made shortbread and has since handed down her Scotish recipe.

  • My favorite holiday food tradition is my fathers stuffing. its always so yummy and i eat so much my pants get tight. I look forward to eating some tomorrow. :)

  • Cookies!

    Both myself and my sister makes dozens upon dozens of cookies!

  • My family would purchase our Christmas cookies from Irene Sedlacek (pronounced said-luh-check) in my mom’s hometown. Irene would make hundreds of dozens of cookies every holiday season, and sell them, to make some money.

    Her cookies: sour cream sugar cookies, with frosting and sprinkles. Shapes: Trees, plain circles, stars, and something else I can’t remember. The cookies froze beautifully.

    Irene died a few years ago, at an advanced age (I’m guessing she was well over 90). Her daughter was besieged with condolences, and after a mannerly waiting period, she was besieged with requests for Irene’s cookie recipe. It seems that many of us just couldn’t have Christmas without Irene’s cookies, and now we realized we would have to make them ourselves!

    And of course, Irene’s recipe was mostly in her head! Her daughter regretfully told us all that, and said if she found it somewhere, she would be sure to let us know. Lo and behold, she did find it, and my mother sent me the recipe out of the blue, through old-fashioned mail, on an old-fashioned paper recipe card, handwritten. Seems very quaint, nowadays. And dang, those cookies are awesome. They are a new tradition for my daughter and me–making roll-out sugar cookies.

  • Rachel H:

    We have a whole table of dishes, all of which are necessary for the day to really feel like Thanksgiving – and to feed the 30 or so people in attendance: 2 turkeys, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, noodles, salad, green bean casserole, corn casserole, macaroni & cheese, sweet potatoes, cranberry relish, banana salad, beet eggs, deviled eggs, rolls, a relish tray, gingerbread, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and apple pie. And usually a couple of extra dishes that could possibly end up on next year’s list.

  • dianne:

    We always have to have home made foor for the holidays. As much from scratch as we can. Sometime we buy a pie crust ready made…but usually everything starts from scratch. I always love the cookies and pumpkin pie!

  • My favorite holiday food tradition is on Christmas morning, we have pancakes and waffles. Mmm… I can almost taste the syrup now!

  • My grandma’s dressing… it’s been in our family for 100 years!

  • Chad:

    My 5 year old daughter has started a tradition of carrying a jar of capers with her everywhere she goes on Thanksgiving day. See, when she was nearly 2 she saw her Dad eating capers with some turkey deli meat and to this day that is the only way she will eat any type of turkey. So…lets hear it for the “caped” turkey!

  • My mom used to always make us sticky buns for Christmas morning-they’re delicious!

  • My MIL makes a wonderful stuffing that has cranberries in it, she also makes a broccoli dish that is absolutely wonderful. Thanksgiving dishes must include stuffing, deviled eggs, turkey, gravy and mashed potatoes!!

    great giveaway!

  • Julie L:

    Our family gets together and makes sugar cookies, fudge, popcorn balls etc.. We have pizza, chicken wings for a meal .
    We always make extra cookies etc. because some get eaten up
    while making :0

  • Megan:

    My Christmas tradition is pretty unappetizing to most people that are not in my family. Since I can remember my mom has been making Fruitcake. My dad loves it so much the first cake is made before Thanksgiving dinner & gone the same day. It’s more like a banana bread with date, candied fruit, & walnuts. I recall many evening trying to sneak a candied cherry out of the mixing bowl. I’ve been married for two years now & my husband still thinks it is the strangest thing.

  • Missy:

    French hot chocolate – my family never gathers during the holidays without it. The chocolate cream is dolloped into steaming hot milk, infusing the milk with deliciousness. Ummmm.

  • Joy F:

    Green bean casserole is our favorite for the holidays.

  • Emma S:

    Yam casserole with marshmeollows. Yummy!!

  • Sammi:

    we make sugar cookies and decorate with colored frosting – it’s fun, like making little paper dolls of food!

  • Courtney Jones:

    Definately the mashed potatoes! Watching the kids help and then licking the blending supplies is always priceless.

  • Catherine:

    My step mom’s cranberry sauce!

  • MelodyJ:

    My favorite meal tradition is to bake something. This year I’m making a pumpkin pie and a sweet potato pie.

    melodyj(at)gmail(dot)com

  • Sandra K321:

    My mom always made a stuffing that I love but my husband and kids won’t eat so I can only make it when my parents come over. It is a very heavy stuffing that is made with bread, mashed potatoes and all of the giblets from the turkey (plus an extra package that I buy at the store of liver, hearts, gizzards, etc.)

  • Valerie:

    I’m not sure if we’re uncomfortable with change or what, but since I was a little girl I’ve always had mom’s angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream on my birthday (and I’m pushing 30!) For Thanksgiving it’s mom’s date nut bread — which is actually her mom’s passed down. *grin* Christmas Eve is reserved for shrimp w/ cocktail sauce (my grandpa’s birthday gift to my dad — he’s a Christmas Eve baby) and our family’s favorite chicken wings. Fourth of July is BBQ wings, no question about it. Seems we have a food for every occasion….and would rebel without it!

  • Kim:

    we must always have a green pistachio salad – cool whip and nuts and mini marshmallows!

  • My mother in law always used to make a Hash Brown Casserole to go with Thanksgiving and/or Christmas dinner, but a couple of years ago, I started making it and now it’s a tradition. Thanks so much for such a wonderful giveaway!

    furygirl3132[at]comcast[dot]net

  • Heather:

    I love food, one of my favorite things during the holidays is cheese ball. When I was in college I worked in the cafeteria dishroom and after catered events we got to snack on the left overs. They had the most wonderful cheese ball. I asked for the recipe and even after halfing the recipe I still end up with a ginormous cheese ball. I still make it every year though and it is well loved and there is plenty to snack on for a long time!

  • Katie Trenerowski:

    For the holidays my mom always goes crazy making pies, but my favorite is New Years Eve when my dad buys way too many king crab legs and we sit around the table breaking and eating crab all night waiting for the new year to ring in! It’s one of my favorites and now is my husband’s favorite too!

  • With this many entries above mine I guess I don’t stand a chance of winning, but trying doesn’t cost much. My favorite holiday tradition at our house is not actually a real holiday. The biggest feast of the year in our house is the snack fest we have on Superbowl Sunday! Little smokies are always included, too, along with chips and dips and chicken wings and meatballs and desserts and just way too many other snacks to name!

  • I look forward to building gingerbread houses with my girls every Christmas. After several years of building, they are getting good at it.

  • Tara:

    Stuffed Mushrooms with cheese and bacon. They are so yummy and fattening!

  • Anne Marie:

    My favorites are definitely Christmas cookies, especially the spritz cookies. We make them with the cookie press and I guarantee you you cannot eat just one. They are so fun to decorate as well as eat!!

  • Jill Myrick:

    In my family we each have our own specialty that we bring together to make dinner.
    Mom brings the Dressing
    My sister brings Sweet Potato Casserole .
    And I make Cranberry Salad.
    We have been doing this for many years and it works out great.

    Thank you so much for the chance to win.

    I love the variety of colors that Slanket offers.

    Thank you so much for the chance to win.

    jweezie43[at]aol[dot]com

  • Kelly:

    We make peanut butter balls and cranberry tea every year. It even smells like the holidays!

  • My favorite holiday food traditions? Hmmm. At Thanksgiving, we have the traditional fare – turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, and pumpkin pie.

    Christmas morning, however, my mother-in-law makes the BEST whole wheat cinnamon rolls ever. I always look forward to eating a few of them by the fireplace with my family.

  • shawna:

    My mother in law makes the best sweet potatoes!!

  • Nichole:

    Cranberry Whipped Cream Salad. So yummy, it is practically a dessert. We have it at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

  • adrienne Gordon:

    egg nog.

  • Brad:

    My mother makes the best green bean casserole.

  • My sis makes Perett pie every year and I love it.
    bebemiqui82(at)yahoo(dot)com

  • Rosey:

    It’s the dessert that says ‘holidays’ to me. It’s the only time of year we have Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Pie, and at New Year’s: Chocolate Amaretto Cheesecake. Why is that??

  • Cynthya P:

    For Thanksgiving, it’s all about the turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy. For the other food, we like to experiment and try new things each year, like a new recipe for cranberry relish or a new kind of pie. For Christmas, it’s all about the sugar cookies you cut out and decorate–such fun!

  • My kids tell me that it’s not the holidays without my chocolate pies. I got the recipe from my great grandmother, and I have to say, they are delicious. I did win first place one year, with them at the county fair..lol Thanks for hosting this giveaway. Happy Thanksgiving.

    emeraldrose63@yahoo.com

  • Arla:

    My favorite Holiday food tradition would be making iced cut-out sugar cookies. They are always a big hit. My aunt used to make a lovely boiled egg roll but nothing my father in law would make.

    lighthousee27(at)gmail.com

  • fave holiday food traditions: my couson’s yam casserole, my aunt’s toffee, lowfat eggnog, my mom’s cheese broccoli

  • Emma Peters:

    Growing up in England , Pigs in a Blanket were always a staple at all childrens birthday parties and gatherings. However we used puff pastry. I can;t wait to make your cresecent rolls tommorow though. My favorite tradition is Prawn( Shrimp) cocktail in Christmas day with homemade thousand island dressing – dressed around individual glass mousse dishes and of course Christmas Crackers!

  • Kimberly:

    Since my dad is allergic to turkey (I know, strange, right?) my mom cooks pretty much everything but turkey – prime rib, oysters, lamb, mashed potatoes, green beans, and pie. Yum!

    By the way, thanks for posting the recipe for those crescent rolls – they look delicious!

  • Joanna:

    My mother and my father were the best cooks in the world, (my world anyway.) I remember my mom having two or three kinds of stuffing for us to try at Thanksgiving, because some of us liked oyster stuffing, some of us like tranditional, and she always made extra out of the bird stuffing that had the best crispy top. The more food she could put on the table, the happier she was. And she liked to see her people enjoy it. Happy Thanksgiving. I hope I win.

  • Matthew:

    My grandmother always makes homemade boiled custard. We use it to pour over the pecan pie.

  • DEBIJOT:

    Every year I make sausage balls. As soon as one tray comes out, another goes in.

  • My grandmother’s cornbread dressing & my mom’s sugar cookies do it for me every year!

  • Crystal F:

    Pumpkin rolls and peanut butter balls are the foods that remind me of Christmas. I know when the family starts talking about them that the holidays are right around the corner. Thank you!

  • Jean F:

    My mother always made Waldorf salad for holiday meals – and I can’t remember it being served any other time. Now it’s more important to me than having green bean casserole or candied sweet potatoes, although I’m pretty sure she made those, too.

  • Allison:

    My ex step mother in law makes pickled brussels sprouts. They are great but it is hard to get people to try them. If they do, they’re hooked!

  • megan:

    My grandma makes mashed potato candy which sounds gross but is actually yummy!

  • JMARIE:

    Christmas is the only time of year I can get pfeffernuese cookies!!!

  • David:

    We used to traditionally have Lefsa but I haven’t had it for years now and I miss it, thanks.

  • We have an Italian dinner (Hubby’s family is part Italian) with Spaghetti and meatballs, homemade ravioli, garlic bread…the works! So yummy!

  • Jewlz:

    At Christmas, my father-in-law makes homemade date squares, which you have to indulge :)))

  • My mother and aunt a sweet bread called “povitica” it is from slovenia – our heritage. You pronounce is “Po-teats-uh” and it is like a cinnamon roll meats bread. SO GOOD!!

  • sara:

    Oooh I always look forward to my Uncle’s famous deer chili!

  • Nycole K:

    Being jewish my favorite holiday food is potato latkes at Hannukah. Now that I;m with a Christian guy I get to celebrate Christmas and I love helping to frost (and eat) the sugar cookies when we go home to his parents.

  • Linda Lansford:

    My Mom and used to make cookies together. I still miss that.

  • EMMA L HORTON:

    IT IS THUMBPRINT COOKIES AT MY HOUSE THAT WE ALL LOVE

  • colleen:

    My mother-in-law makes homemade pumpkin pie, my sister-in-law brings cranberry salad and I bring the sweet potato pie. It wouldn’t be thanksgiving without all that yummy food and a full belly.
    cthompson1477@gmail.com

  • autie:

    We never seem to eat stuffing any time other than holidays! And eggnog. So it’s special when we get to have both on Thanksgiving.

  • We always have cream cheese and salsa dip with veggies – I look forward to it every year!

  • Anne D:

    We always make Peanut Blossom cookies (with Hershey Kiss) on top. Love ’em!

  • Lisa:

    My mother makes cranberry freeze! I have absolutely no idea what is in it execpt fresh cranberries and loads of yumminess!

  • Nancy K.:

    Just like you, I have a father in law who enjoys the goodies that I make. Every Christmas time I make him a batch of peanut brittle.

  • we do eggnog and sugarcookies, i love pigs on ablanket, but my favorite is making suprise brownies with my kids we put different candies and such in them thanks for the chance to win eaglesforjack@gmail.com

  • Joanne Schultz:

    LOL, my Thanksgiving tradition is that I make sure there is home made applesauce and that it is warm when served!
    That and the apple pie are the only Thanksgiving food I like :-(
    Now Christmas is always non-turkey, and my sister plans such wonderful food.
    Holiday food also means that Jelly Belly has their candycane flavor available LOL! And Friendly’s finally gets their peppermint ice cream – YUM!!

  • Ginny:

    seeing family that live far away getting together, thanks!

  • We make an advent cake for Christmas Eve when we light the final candle, the Christ candle, in our advent wreath. It’s a chocolate/white chocolate marble chiffon cake to represent how Jesus, the light, removes the darkness. And we eat it for days. :-)

  • My favorite tradition is a recipe for my grandma’s pumpkin pie. It’s actually kind of an overly watery version of a recipe, but it always brought such joy to my dad to serve it that we can’t stop making it.

  • creativelyfrugal:

    we have pretty much the same menu each year, and that is a tradition in itself–while we make the turkey, it’s the side items we really love! a special homemade cranberry sauce my sister makes, sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes, coconut cream and pumpkin pies, rolls…i can’t wait til tomorrow!

  • MMW:

    My family always dines on artichokes and crab for xmas eve dinner. It was a cheap meal that my parents could afford when my oldest siblings were younger and the meal just kind of turned into tradition. Too bad the price tag has only increased more than the rate of inflation. Both of my toddlers have learned to love artichokes and crab!

  • My gma always makes deviled eggs. my favorite is always the mashed potatoes with turkey gravy

  • My stepfather is a Chef. For Christmas he does this brunch… let me just stop there or you’ll be way too jealous. I’m a lucky girl.

  • Elena:

    I love love love that generic green bean casserole that has the recipe on the can of french fried onions. YUM! Thanks for the contest!

  • My grandfather would always make his special chunky Cinnamon Apple Sauce for our holiday meal. It was so delicious and since he passed away several years ago I have kept up the tradition of making it every year.
    lisalmg25 at gmail dot com

  • Cindi:

    Every Christmas Eve, we would join my husband’s family for
    two of his maternal grandmother’s homemade soups!
    It was a tradition to have Gazpacho and/or Oyster soup before attending the candlelight service at church.
    Many thanks, Cindi

  • kristy:

    Every Thanksgiving I get up early to watch the parade… It’s something that I have done since I was a young child

  • Suzanne K:

    Our favorite holiday tradition is (gasp) skipping the turkey and replacing it with a delicious prime rib roast!

  • Sheila B:

    I love my sister in laws fresh boiled shrimp and I usually make ham biscuits that are gone the time they hit the table.

  • Rynell:

    I also make crescent rolls every Thanksgiving. We have a pretty traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but on the day after Thanksgiving, we have the Requisite and Revered Turkey Noodle Soup. My mom makes the most amazing turkey soup with homemade noodles and everyone loves it. It is as anticipated as the Thanksgiving dinner.

  • Paula H:

    I make a candy called Potato Candy. My Mom used to make it as did my grandma. You make a dough out of confectioners sugar and potato and spread it with peanut butter. It sounds gross but it’s really good.

  • amy s:

    we love eggnog

  • Kathleen S.:

    My fave holiday food tradition is basically that everyone pitches in and brings something. Whoever hosts does the turkey or ham and maybe the potato dish, and then everyone else is assigned another part of the meal to bring. I love that we all contribute and help each other out, and the food is always very traditional and yummy! Thanks!

  • It’s not a party around here without deviled eggs.

  • Claire:

    Sweet potato pie :)

  • Janna Johnson:

    My Grandma’s homemmade stuffing is my fav food tradition! I try and try to make it but it never comes out good like hers!

    Thanks for entering me! Great Contest!

    Janna Johnson
    janna@FeedYourPigBlog.com
    jannajanna@hotmail.com
    http://www.FeedYourPigBlog.com

  • lace:

    Stuffing using stuffing bread that is only available at Thanksgiving (not the crouton stuff). Its my favorite thing to eat.

  • Terri:

    My mother’s pies. She is a fabulous pie maker and always shares 4 or 5 different pies at all our family holidays.
    My favorites are pumpkin and cherry.

  • christopher h:

    we always make deviled eggs, dozens and dozens of them

  • I love real stuffing! It’s not hard to make, but I don’t make the real stuff outside of the holidays!

  • shalanda:

    My favorite holiday food tradition is helping my grandmother make gumbo and potato salad. I get to spend time with her and learn how to cook at the same time.

  • Kendra:

    Our family’s staple dish at Christmas is gumbo. My uncle makes it best. We are always looking for it.

  • Nam N.:

    My mom makes a wierd dessert every Thanksgiving. It’s Jello with Pineapples and whip cream… I don’t even like it, but I can’t imagine Thanksgiving without it! 0_0

  • Darcy B:

    My grandmother used to make trays of home made candies for the holidays—I try to carry on her tradition.

  • Wow girl, look at you go!

  • Jennifer gersch:

    my sis makes pumpkin spice cake instaed of pumpkin pie

  • Carol Lawrence:

    We have a traditional holiday dinner,but I do make my potato salad that my husband loves.

  • Letessha:

    I cannnot recall any unusual cooking. My late grandma used to make delicious apple dumplings. My family has the same foods each Thanksgiving: sweet potato pie, cake, turkey, ham, stuffing,potato salad, mixed greens, mac n cheese, dinner rolls, and corn.

  • Sharon Harmon:

    My favorite holiday tradition is Christmas Eve. Most of our family are German, so for dinner we have ox tail soup(tastes much better than it sounds! lol!), long fancy German wieners, German potato salad, and rolls!
    Happy Thanksgiving!

  • Sarah:

    We don’t really have any Thanksgiving traditions – just try to get in as much turkey as possible wherever we are.

  • arielle:

    We always make a recipe that has been passed down from my grandmother, its a fluffy cranberry fruit salad. The holidays just wouldn’t be the same without it!!

  • Cynthia C:

    It wouldn’t be a holiday at our house without my mom’s cranberry salad. Delicious, and it’s healthy!

  • Nancy Sloan:

    I always have made my strawberry jello salad for at least 30 years, it is a big hit and now my great grandkids love it!

  • Pamela Callahan:

    My favorite is ham rolls. Thinly sliced ham with a spread of cream cheese and a thin slice of pickle all rolled up – YUM!

  • Shari D:

    We do the traditional turkey dinner except that we make a hamburg stuffing. Yum!

  • merle:

    i love pig in the blanket. but our Hawaiian Thanksgiving always has sushi and poki (raw fish squares)
    Happy Thanksgiving

  • Deborah Wellenstein:

    Every Thanksgiving I make a recipe for a walnut bread that my mother found in a newspaper in 1948. It is wonderful!

  • PatZ:

    Being Italian we always have sausage, brushetta and a variety of cheeses and olives.

  • Michael:

    Somewhat similar to Pigs in a Blanket, one of our family favorites are thin slices of deli meat (such as corned beef or pastrami) layered with cream cheese and wrapped around kosher dill pickle spears. ‘Pickle in a Blanket’ perhaps? :)

  • Allison:

    My favorite part of the holidays are the pies. This year we made 5 pies for 9 people. It just wouldn’t be the same without pumpkin, cherry, and pecan pie.

  • Ours is deviled eggs, pumpkin roll and stuffing- to me it is all about the stuffing ;)

  • we have spare ribs.. so delic!!!

  • G. L. PENROD:

    my cream cheese shrimp and crap dip is now a tradition and if i do not serve it on a holiday i never hear then end of it so i learned the hard way tis now a staple here

  • JRG:

    No one cooks the turkey like my 75 year old mother; what will we do when she is gone……

  • tanya:

    My grandma makes the best coleslaw for thanksgiving.

  • dan:

    My mamaw always makes a pumpkin pie roll. There is never anything left!

  • Tatum V:

    The amish noodles are awesome. We have had these since I can remember and it’s the only time of year except christmas that we make them. We can now buy them from our local store instead of stocking up when we go to the amish country. Turkey, mashed potatoes, noodles and stuffing yummy. I can smell my turkey in the oven now and my belly is going crazy..

  • Katie:

    My mom and I have baking day every year, and we make chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, swedish cookies, and some more cookies….but my favorite thing is the homemade chex mix. I love it!

  • reeva:

    we always have 3 turkeys on thanksgiving, someone does a smoked one, another person does baked and usually my cousin is the deep fry guy

  • Leslie S.:

    The one tadition we have is on Christmas eve.We make snacky foods like pigs in a blanket,sausage balls,and chex party mix.We snack on tehse while cooking.Thanks!

  • My favorite holiday food tradition is my sweet potatoes WITHOUT marshmallow topping. I make mashed sweet potatoes from fresh baked sweet potatoes, brown sugar, milk. butter, vanilla, and eggs beaten together, topped with chopped glazed pecans and baked in a casserole. It puts those marshmallow potatoes to shame! Thanks for the chance to win.

  • Carol G:

    We have a fruit salad that is made only on holidays. While fresh fruit at all times of the year is not rare now, when I was a chilld it was really somewhat of a splurge to buy it, and it makes a mrvelous counterpoint to turkey!

  • victoria lynch:

    My favorite will always be chocolate cream pie with whip cream and pecans on top. My grandma use to make this for me every year. now that she is gone I make it for my kids

  • Susan:

    We don’t really have any set food traditions. We like to have the basic ham, turkey, dressing and then for the other dishes we always try to come up with new recipes. It can be a hit or a mis, but it’s always fun trying to find something new.

  • Pamela S:

    We have an almost identical menu every year!!! We ALWAYS have broccoli salad, and stuffing, and sweet potatoes cooked with raisins, walnuts, and maple syrup. And we ALWAYS have a chocolate chunk pecan pie and french silk pie. Oh yeah….and ALWAYS rolls!!

    We’re creatures of habit. THanks.

  • randi:

    We always have homemade dressing, whipped sweet potatoes with praline topping, mashed potatoes & gravy, noodles, green casserole, broccoli & cauliflower with cheese sause, rolls, & of course turkey & ham. Pathetic isn’t it, but oh, soooo good!

  • Jacob:

    We always have eggnog at the holidays and I feel it wouldn’t be the same without it!

  • Vicky H.:

    I’ve been the main “cook” for the holidays for just a few years. My favorite thing to do is experiment with new recipes and seasonings. Last year, I tried out a mushroom/rice bake which was amazing~ This year, because I’m half Korean, I’m cooking Asian-esque items, including a soy sauced marinated turkey and stir fry veggies. Next year, I might do a Cajun/spicy themed menu.

  • Ronda Garnett:

    Homemade fudge…we only make it during the Hoildays :)

  • R Hicks:

    My Grandmother makes several fruit cakes every yeat to give as gifts and she always brings one to the family Thanksgiving dinner. To have a taste of her homemade fruit cake is out of this world.

  • Nanci K:

    Apple pie with vanilla ice cream. Nothing special.

  • Deb Anderson:

    My mother makes the best dressing in the world!! No, really!! :) But the “tradition” that I’ll always think about is that my mom makes a raisin pie for my dad every year. He’s the only one who likes it, so that way he gets to eat the whole thing all by himself! :)

  • Robin:

    Our favorite tradition is the cherry and pumpkin pies

  • Lee:

    My mother in law makes candy cane cookies, that have a slight taste of mint, SO GOOD.

    Lee
    leechrista @ gmail dot com

  • Patrice:

    My Daddy was the cook in the family and he always made an asparagus casserole for the holidays, plus he was known for his great stuffing. He is no longer with us, but we continue to make the asparagus casserole every year, and attempt to duplicate his stuffing recipe.

  • Amy DeLong:

    nothing crazy,but we love pumpkin,pumpkin pie,pumpkin breand and pumpkin roll!

    ardelong2(at)gmail(dot)com

  • Aisling:

    My mom taught me how to make fruitcake many years ago and every year right after Thanksgiving, I make about 6 of them. (They’re only given to family members who have expressed the desire to have one, so I trust that none are used for doorstops or re-gifted to someone they don’t like.)

  • I make pumpkin cheesecake for my husband. I hate pumpkin but in this recipe it is divine!

  • DeeAnn S:

    I guess it’s turned into a tradition by now cause after 30some years I still make Mamas Best Ever Rum Balls. Several years ago I told my family I didn’t think I’d make them for Christmas that year and the uproar was amazing! I made them, kept the peace, and promised to continue making them every year. And yes, I think they’re that good!

  • Betty C:

    My favorite extra with our holiday dinners is Pecan Pie. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to have gone on to the next generation. They prefer pumpkin and dutch apple pies.

  • PAIGE CHANDKER:

    I love the gravy with eggs that granny makes. I our it on the whole plate and just pig out. Mmmmm

  • Liz H:

    Our xmas tradition has become Xmas Tacos. My kids are grown and married so they do multiple thanksgivings and Xmas, so by the time we all get together they are turkeyed out. They are easy to make and everyone gets in the kitchen to help chop, make guacamole, etc. This gives us time to be together instead of cooking and cleaning up.

  • Kelly:

    My favorite holiday food tradition is Christmas Eve. We always have 2 kinds of soup (macaroni tomato and cheeseburger soups), homemade cornbread, and curry chicken dip with crackers and veggies. It’s so comforting. :)

  • Dorothy Campbell:

    Great giveaway especially during the holiday season!

  • Susan Smith:

    My sister in law makes great cinnamon rolls and we all look forward to eating them on Christmas morning.

  • Shelli:

    I don’t know if they have a name, but a Thankgiving tradition has always been as an appetizer we make celery sticks filled with a cream cheese, green olive mixture. They are yummy!

  • Sylvie W.:

    My mother’s apple pies are deliciuos. We peel the apples together and she does the rest.

  • Genevieve W.:

    A family friend shared his cornbread stuffing recipe with me years ago. Unlike my stuffing which is baked in the turkey, his is baked in a glass lasagna dish separate. It has corn bread, raisins soaked in wine, scallions and mushrooms. You also dice the turkey liver and gizzards. It is very good. The red wine gives this stuffing a special taste and aroma.

  • amber:

    That photo is making me hungry! :) I love foods around the holidays. I make a lot of pumpkin muffins. We also eat gingerbread around the holidays. Sometimes we make Divinity, that white soft holiday candy. So yummy! As for foods, we love homemade stuffing and homemade mashed potatoes. I love yams with brown sugar, margarine, and mini marshmallows. I absolutely love rolls and breads around the holidays too, makes the meal feel complete! :) Thanks for the giveaway.

    Happy Thanksgiving!

  • Kayce Crews:

    My mom makes a dressing that I love, and it tastes great with her pea salad and strawberry salad.

  • I guess it would be Pecan stuffing.

  • Linda:

    My niece always makes the best hoiday cookies and shares with all of us.

  • David Patterson:

    The dogs look yummy!

  • Rebekah:

    Sage turkey stuffing-it’s been a family recipe for four generations!

  • Charity S.:

    My mom always makes Lemon Chocolate Drops for Christmas.

  • steven lewis:

    We always have candied yams,,sweet potato pies corn bread dressing…Mom and Dad are both gone now, so I have to rely on my sister for several of my favorite holiday dishes. Some things I never learned to cook, but the turkey is in the oven! Mom’s house always smelled delicious on holidays.

  • mindy:

    we are quite unconventional i guess we send out for chinese on thanksgiving this has been going on for over 30 years

  • James:

    My favorite Thanksgiving food is green bean casserole .

  • Jessie C.:

    My favorite Holiday food traditions is my grandma’s sweet potato casserole! Yum~

  • roseh2o19:

    store-bought eggnog straight out of the carton

  • Jessica G:

    The one tradition in my family is a Cheesecake Pumpkin Pie that I made 4 years ago. Everyone LOVED it so much, that now, whenever we gather I have NO CHOICE in what I am responsible for bringing/making. Fortunately for me… I LOVE it too:)

    And… those Pigs in a Blanket look good~ I may have to try them myself.

    Thank you Make it Do, Sara Lee, and Hillshire Farms:)

  • gloria:

    My holiday food tradition is my sister makes some kind of green jello with whipped cream and walnuts mixed together. That’s always her dish to bring. It’s good.

  • Kimberly R:

    To me, the holidays are all about desserts – my grandpa’s boston cream pie, my mom’s cheesecake, and my aunt’s pumpkin pie.

  • Denise B.:

    It’s not Thanksgiving without the sausage stuffing I make out of Italian bread.

  • McKim:

    Years ago – probably 35 – us kids got our parents an electric fondue pot for Christmas. Since that time we have made a tradition of having beef fondue on Christmas Eve.

  • jaimee:

    my favorite holiday food tradition is having deep fried turkey! yum

  • My mother makes sweet and sour ham every christmas. It was her mothers recipe. The whole family looks forward to it.
    jennielee226(at)gmail(dot)com

  • Pat:

    At our house we eat Eggplant Parmesan at holiday times.

    Thank you for the contest. Happy Thanksgiving.

  • Laura L:

    we have a Christmas tradition of having pancakes and sausage for breakfast . Nothing special, but it is something we do.

  • SweetSwede:

    I love glögg (Swedish mulled wine) and ginger snaps. Traditionally we put almonds and raisins in the glögg and spike it with vodka for the grownups-only version.

  • Kate:

    My grandfather used to make the most incredible green beans – they cooked all day in liquid with a ham hock, onion, and spices and they were incredible. He never wrote down the recipe or showed anyone how to make them :( miss both of my grandfather’s very much

  • On Christmas we make sticky buns and a sausage egg casserole. My parents provide the cream cheese crescent rolls. We have had this menu for years now. Thank you for this generous giveaway! Happy Thanksgiving!

  • Cheryl:

    To me, Peanut Butter Kisses cookies mean Christmas! Thanks!

  • estella miller:

    My sister and her family come up from Texas with their FAMOUS cornbread stuffing!

  • Roxanne Ellis Raymond:

    Scallops wrapped in bacon

  • Brian E.:

    Thanks for the giveaway…My late Irish mother served two delicious side dishes that I will always remember: a cabbage & bacon dish (cabbage was steamed & then fried with bacon bits), and a savory sausage dressing instead of the usual “stuffing”.

  • DeeAnn:

    My ex husbands Grandmother always made meatballs for any holiday. She was in a wheel chair and meatballs could be made sitting in the chair, this way she felt like she had a contribution to the holiday meal and we LOVED her meatballs!!

  • barbara wright:

    I cringe to say this…. but my daughter’s FAVORITE holiday food is Chex Mix. I never make it except when my parents come because my father loves it. So she associates Chex Mix with Thanksgiving and Christmas

  • Geoff K:

    My favorite traditions for the holidays are the simple things my mom has done my entire life and continues to do even now that my sister and I are grown — like pulling out the same plastic mistletoe that’s always hung over the doorway to the kitchen, making sugar cookies with the same cutters she’s used all her life, placing the antique glass ornaments on the tree, and making her famous homemade eggnog. The continuity of these holiday rituals is something we all find really comforting and special!

  • Sherri B.:

    My parents cook a whole pig each year and we steam oysters outside for a huge family gathering! I look forward to it all year long! Thanks!

    sherri419 at gmail dot com

  • Suzanne Reichel:

    Our favorite holiday food traditions are eggnog, pumpkin pie, fruitcake, and Mexican wedding cookies. We try to eat sensibly during the rest of the year so we can really indulge in the holiday foods.

  • carol l~:

    We always made a cake the kids want which is called drum cake and it is a torte with many layers of sponge cake and chocolate icing. Takes time to bake all those layers but is it good!

  • Annemarie:

    For Christmas we make chocolate chip cookes. Nothing better than homemade cookies for us and Santa!!

  • Heidi Gail:

    We always have deviled eggs on the holidays. I make them at my house and my daughter makes them at hers. They never last more than about half an hour. Latecomers miss out.

  • On Christmas Eve we always have a “feast” which is an odd conglomeration of everyone’s favorite foods – mostly in the appetizer category. We have chicken fingers, cheese and crackers, mini tacos, egg rolls, beef jerky, seafood for mom, and the traditional squirt cheese.

  • Terri L:

    My mom’s family has a norwegian Christmas meal…lutefisk and lefse and swedish meatballs.

  • Veronica Garrett:

    I’ve taken over my mother’s tradition of making a Red Velvet Cake.

  • i make the same meal every year: turkey, cornbread dressing, baked mac-n-cheese, candied yams, ham, collards

  • we love mexican food

  • Linda Battershall:

    Chocolate Crinkle cookies from a 60’s Betty Crocker cookbook that was my grandmother’s. I made these the first time as a teen from that same cookbook. Its our family’s signature cookie and fun to make.

  • Patti Sherman:

    My Dad made the best Oyster stew! Wish I had that recipe.

  • Holly B:

    We make cutout cookies and all decorate them together..it’s fun!

  • Heather C:

    When my mom breaks out the ingredients for dill bread, you know it’s Christmas time! It is soooo good!

  • Brandon:

    I like pumpkin pie.

    mmm…pumpkin pie.

  • Karen:

    I have a favorite cinnamon cookie recipe that has become a new standard for Christmas, along with my grandmother’s danish pastries. I think I made my mother’s Thanksgiving this year when I surprised her with a side dish of creamed onions — I don’t think she’s had those on Thanksgiving since my grandmother passed away.

  • Gianna:

    Every year I make fried pizza pockets on Christmas Eve and Christmas Cookies with the kids on Christmas Day :)

  • KaTe U:

    We used to string cranberries and popcorn for around the frames of the rooms. We love sara lee crescents around Kolbassi and cheese.

  • Charlene Kuser:

    My sister makes the best crab stuffed eggs.We all
    wait for them on Thanksgiving

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